London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Pfizer and Flynn fined for overcharging NHS for life-saving epilepsy drug

Pfizer and Flynn fined for overcharging NHS for life-saving epilepsy drug

Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Flynn both intend to appeal the UK competition watchdog's finding that they "exploited their dominant positions" to charge the NHS "excessive" prices.

Two pharmaceutical companies have been fined after they overcharged the NHS for a life-saving epilepsy drug.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined Pfizer £63m and Flynn £6.7m after finding that they had "abused their dominant positions" in the market to charge unfairly high prices over a four-year period.

NHS costs for the phenytoin sodium capsules rose from £2m in 2012 to £50m the following year.

Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: "Phenytoin is an essential drug relied on daily by thousands of people throughout the UK to prevent life-threatening epileptic seizures.

"These firms illegally exploited their dominant positions to charge the NHS excessive prices and make more money for themselves - meaning patients and taxpayers lost out.

"Such behaviour will not be tolerated, and the companies must now face the consequences of their illegal action."

Pfizer vows to appeal


A Pfizer spokeswoman said: "Pfizer disagrees with the CMA's latest infringement decision and will be appealing against it.

"As we have consistently stated throughout this process, ensuring a sustainable supply of our products to UK patients is of paramount importance to us and was at the heart of our decision to divest phenytoin capsules to Flynn Pharma in 2012.

"The Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal both ultimately found in Pfizer's favour in respect of the CMA's original decision, which was set aside together with the associated fine.

"We maintain that we approached this divestment, as with all our business operations, with integrity and believe it fully complies with established competition law."

The CMA's original infringement decision was issued in 2016, fining Pfizer and Flynn more than £84m.

The two firms went to the Competition Appeal Tribunal to challenge that finding, resulting in a second investigation launched in 2020.

The fine announced on Thursday replaces the one announced in 2016.

Flynn 'surprised and disappointed'


In a statement provided to Sky News, Flynn said it was "surprised and disappointed" at the decision.

"In our view the original CMA case was fundamentally flawed, and that view is unchanged in regard to the second decision," it said.

"Their first decision was issued 5 ½ years ago and then successfully appealed by Flynn to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in June 2018, in a full merits hearing with expert evidence over four weeks - a decision which was upheld by the Court of Appeal nearly 2 ½ years ago.

"Notwithstanding all of this and the burden this has placed on Flynn as a small pharma company with limited resources, Flynn has continued to operate throughout serving the needs of UK epilepsy patients as well as patients across a range of other therapy areas.

"The protracted nature of this case has now outlived two changes in the most senior leadership of the CMA and is indicative we say, of a lack of clarity and consistency in the alleged theory(ies) of harm and more fundamentally, an absence of wrongdoing.

"For the avoidance of doubt, Flynn announces its intention to again appeal the CMA decision. We believe that once the matter is fully tested in a full merits review, Flynn will again be vindicated."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
×